News / Military

Roadside bomb kills US soldier in Afghanistan

Tuesday, 23 August 2016 3:55 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 23 August 2016 5:19 PM ]

This file photo shows US soldiers patrolling an area in Afghanistan.

A roadside bomb attack in the southern Afghan province of Helmand has killed a US soldier and left another injured.

The US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan said the casualties took place on Tuesday when a US military patrol was struck by a roadside bomb in the provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah.

The incident also left six Afghan security forces wounded.

US military officials claimed that their soldier was killed during operations carried out against the Taliban militants.

The attack came a day after US officials announced that 100 American troops had been sent to the volatile region to help prevent the city from falling to the militant group.

This marks the first major American deployment to southern Afghanistan since foreign forces withdrew from there in 2014.

The Taliban has seized a number of districts in Helmand, Baghlan and Takhar provinces in the past weeks.

*This file photo shows members of the Taliban militant group in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan*

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The military invasion removed the Taliban from power, but their militancy continues to this day.

In October last year, US President Barack Obama announced plans to keep 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and 5,500 in 2017, reneging on his promise to end the war there and bring home most American forces from the Asian country before he leaves office.

Over the past several months, Taliban militants have intensified their pressure with numerous offensives on other key Afghan provinces, including Kunduz and Takhar.

Reports say the northern city of Kunduz is also on the verge of falling back to the Taliban after the city was recaptured two days ago. According to the Afghan Defense Ministry, government troops are currently battling the Taliban in at least 15 of the country’s 34 provinces.

"Around 80 percent of the province is under the control of the insurgents," said Omer Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Helmand.

There are a number of districts that the government claims are under their control, but the government is only present in the district administrative center and all around are under the control of the insurgents, he added.

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